BELVOIR CASTLE.
View from one of the Towers.
ONE of the most majestic in character, commanding in situation, picturesque in surroundings, and striking in its arrangements, of all the “Stately Homes of England,” is Belvoir Castle, the grand old seat of his Grace the Duke of Rutland. Stately among the stateliest, and standing on an eminence in the midst of an undulating country, the one object on which the eye rests from whichever side it is approached, the castle commands uninterrupted views ranging over three separate counties, and embracing within its ken such a variety of plain and water, wood and valley, hill and meadow, as no other “Home” can boast. Situated nearly at the junction of the three counties of Leicester, Nottingham, and Lincoln, the panoramic view obtained from the castle combines the characteristics of each, and its extent ranges over an area of fifty or sixty miles in diameter—being on one side bounded by Lincoln Minster (which is, in a clear atmosphere, distinctly visible) and the hills beyond, although thirty miles off “as the crow flies.” Its immediate neighbourhood, the lovely and fertile “vale of Belvoir,” the theme of poet and prose-writer, and the delight of the painter and lover of nature, lies immediately below, while beyond are miles of lovely country, gloriously diversified with wood and water, and studded at intervals with hamlets, villages, and homesteads, which add greatly to the beauty of the scene.
Belvoir Castle from the Grantham Road.
A marked and peculiar character of Belvoir, and one of its greatest charms, is that it stands in the midst of this open country, not within the confines of its own park. There is no enclosed park; and park palings, lodges, bolts, bars, and locks are unknown. The Duke, in this noble mansion, rests in the midst of his immense estates, and draws no cordon around him. The roads, right up to the very castle, are open and free to all, and restriction is unknown. For miles in extent, and from every side, the public may wander on foot, or ride or drive, through the estate and up to the very doors, unmolested, and untrammelled by fear of porters, or deterred by appliances of state or ceremony. The stronghold of the De Todenis, the Albinis, the Especs, the De Ros’, and the Manners’, thus nestles securely in the very heart of the country, as does its noble owner—the descendant and representative of this long line of illustrious men—in the hearts of his tenantry, his friends, and all who have the privilege of knowing him.